Mary Jones reflects on the loss of her husband Bill Jones, Alzheimer’s disease with Lewy Body
The slow loss of so much…little by little
For me, many of these were lost long before November 5, 2019:
Future memories with the love of my life
Plans for our future
The loving embrace of strong arms
A thoughtful man who consistently opened doors for me (houses, stores, cars…)
A fun “Pop” for my grandchildren
A father to my children
My best friend
The sound of his voice
Conversational give and take (long lost)
A mealtime companion
His bright “smiling” eyes (one of the first losses)
A kiss goodnight
A tender hand on my back as I walk
The driver
A personal handyman to fix things
A grocery bag helper
Strong arms to lift or carry heavy things
Someone to pack the car efficiently (another early loss)
A travel companion
A protector
Being part of a couple (this lost “status” is huge)
A partner in prayer
A shoulder to cry on
Someone to laugh with
Someone to share morning coffee or an evening glass of red wine
Someone to make meals for
Someone to help make decisions (I became his decision maker a few years ago…at first informally and then formally)
Warmth of him asleep next to me in bed
A companion
A lover
A best friend
A husband
And more…
Dementia causes a slow fading and deterioration of a person.
There are NO disease modifying treatments.
Dementia deserves more attention.
Dementia deserves more funding for patient and caregiver support and research…for at minimum an effective treatment.
With most other diseases there is hope for stabilizing or improving the outcome.
Right now for people with dementia the eventual outcome is death.
Please pray for increased attention to this very real public health crisis.
Please pray for the day that no one has to face these sort of losses ever again.
